


a one time chance

by theafterimages



Series: weddings au [2]
Category: EXO (Band), f(x)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-02 02:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4042324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theafterimages/pseuds/theafterimages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yura enlists Kyungsoo to help make sure that Chanyeol and Jinri's wedding day is the best day of their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a one time chance

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to N for betaing and help with researching Korean wedding traditions, and to N and K for all the brainstorming. ♥

It starts when Yura invites Kyungsoo out to lunch a week before Chanyeol's wedding.

They make small talk as they decide on their orders, catching up on each other's lives. Her hair's grown out from the short bob he last saw her with during Chanyeol and Jinri’s engagement party, when they’d traded smiles while watching the video of Chanyeol down on one knee, neck of his guitar in one hand and ring box in the other. 

After they give their orders to the waitress, Yura leans in and lowers her voice surreptitiously. "Want to start with dessert? I smuggled a sample out from the cake tasting for you."

"What kind?" Kyungsoo asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Devil's food."

"Sure," he agrees promptly. She grins and pulls a small white box out of her purse, passing it over to him. Two bites later, Kyungsoo is more than in agreement with Chanyeol and Jinri's choice. "One of the perks of being the wedding planner?"

"It was terrible, but I forced myself through it."

He laughs. "How's all that going, by the way?" The few times he's asked Chanyeol, all he hears is bragging about how Yura was definitely going to make sure they had the best wedding ever or complaints about how she and Jinri had come up with so many wedding questions concerning things he didn’t even know mattered. Better Yura than him, Kyungsoo has long since decided.

As if she’s reading his mind, she says, "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Karma, he thinks ruefully even as he asks, "What is it?" Easier than refusing outright. Besides, there’s not much he wouldn’t do for Yura.

"I'm going to have a lot to keep track of during the next few days," she begins. Even now she's thumbing through her phone, hitting a few keys before she returns her full attention to him. "And you and Chanyeol have such... lively friends."

"They're idiots, you don't have to pretend otherwise." 

She laughs into her hand. He doesn't have the heart to tell her it's not a complete joke. “I like them, but they can be a lot, especially when we’ll have so much else to manage. Would you mind keeping them in line for me?"

Kyungsoo smiles. "I'd be happy to help."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dogs all welcome Kyungsoo home excitedly, as usual. Jongin calls out a greeting from their bedroom, so once Kyungsoo’s toed off his shoes and the dogs have calmed down he pads in there and finds Jongin sprawled on the bed, laptop in front of him.

"How was lunch?" Jongin asks, sitting up and smiling at Kyungsoo. “And Yura?”

"Both fine." Kyungsoo sits down next to him, lets Jongin pull him against his side and claims a kiss. It’s nothing that hasn’t happened a thousand times since they started dating three years ago, but Kyungsoo’s still always glad to come home to Jongin. “She said to tell you she said hi.”

“Like that?” Jongin asks hopefully.

Kyungsoo laughs but kisses him again. “Should’ve come with me, then you’d know for yourself.”

“Next time.” Jongin strokes Kyungsoo’s hair and Kyungsoo relaxes despite himself, his eyes sliding shut as he burrows closer into Jongin's warmth. “So what else happened?” 

"I agreed to babysit everyone at the wedding,” Kyungsoo mumbles.

"Weren't you going to do that, anyway?"

"Yeah, but now it's official. How many of them do you think I'll have to kill before this is over?" 

Jongin laughs quietly, kissing his temple. "It'll be fine. You'll see."

Kyungsoo lifts his head from Jongin’s shoulder just to make sure Jongin can see the dubious look he’s giving him. "Have you met our friends?"

“So tsundere,” Jongin teases.

“You watch too much anime,” Kyungsoo says, albeit half-heartedly.

“No such thing,” Jongin immediately debates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo gets off work late the evening of the wedding rehearsal, and by the time he arrives at the church it's nearly pandemonium. Even Zitao is there, since Chanyeol and Jinri hired him as their wedding photographer, though given that he and Sehun have been inseparable for so long now he probably would have shown up anyway.

The first thing Kyungsoo hears as he walks into the sanctuary is Jongdae hitting a particularly high note, making Kyungsoo wince. “How is it?” Jongdae then calls—to Baekhyun, Kyungsoo then realizes, who’s over on the other side of the church.

Baekhyun blinks, cupping his hand against his ear. “What?”

“Did you hear it okay?”

“What?”

Jongdae stomps his foot. “I know you can hear me!” he yells. Baekhyun makes a show of shrugging his shoulders and looking around in bewilderment, playing it up for Sunyoung, who’s standing next to Jongdae and laughing at them both.

Yixing waves to Kyungsoo from where he's warming up on the piano, and Kyungsoo decides to go say hello. His head’s throbbing from hours spent looking at his computer screen, and he’s not anticipating it getting better any time soon. He could use some of Yixing's serenity. 

"Are you all right?" Yixing asks, leaning over the piano to give him a hug. As usual, Yixing is wearing a shirt so low-cut that any movement at all sends it gaping forward. Kyungsoo hopes someone's reminded him to wear a tie tomorrow. The last thing they need is wedding guests getting an eyeful of his chest.

"It's... loud," Kyungsoo says. As if to punctuate his words, Zitao calls across the sanctuary at the exact same time Jongdae starts yelling at Baekhyun again, and Chanyeol’s loud laughter echoes out in the vestibule. Kyungsoo winces. 

Yixing pats his shoulder. “But everyone’s happy,” he points out. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Kyungsoo nods. “Am I the last one here?”

“No, Jiyoung’s plane got in late so she and Song Qian aren’t here yet.”

“Taemin’s coming, too,” Jongin adds as he joins them, draping his arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “He said he’ll be here soon.”

Yixing hums thoughtfully, his fingers dancing over a few keys. “I guess when you two get married he’ll be your best man, right, Jongin?”

Kyungsoo had never really thought about it before. Taemin as Jongin's best man. Taemin in charge of the bachelor party. Taemin making _speeches_. "We're eloping," Kyungsoo decides immediately, and Jongin laughs so hard he has to lean against the piano for support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Song Qian and Jiyoung arrive a short while later, at which point everyone assembles in the narthex, outside the entryway to the sanctuary. Since Chanyeol and his family aren’t religious, he and Jinri had decided to hold the wedding at Jinri’s family’s church. 

Yura had sent Kyungsoo a few Snapchats during the afternoon, so he’d already seen some of how the sanctuary looked before arriving. They did a good job, he thinks again now, taking in the pink and white flowers and decorations everywhere. The reception hall has been decorated in pink and black, the wedding colors, but they had agreed to use white instead of black for the church.

(“I like pink,” Jongdae had commented to Chanyeol when he had told them the colors he and Jinri had decided on. Between the mile-wide smile Jongdae had given Joonmyun after saying that, and the way Joonmyun’s ears had turned pink, Kyungsoo had immediately decided he didn’t want to know what Jongdae wasn’t saying.)

The members of the wedding party quickly pair off, Kyungsoo and Yura trading smiles as they take their places next to each other behind Baekhyun and Amber. The pastor spends the first few minutes explaining what will happen before the ceremony starts and how the processional will go. Everyone stays relatively quiet until he asks Chanyeol and Sehun to go stand at the front of the church.

“Hey, have you practiced for the piggyback rides yet?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol then.

Sehun snickers. “Yeah, you can’t drop your mother-in-law.”

“I’m not going to drop my mother-in-law,” Chanyeol protests.

“So practice!” Jongdae promptly hops onto Chanyeol’s back, and Chanyeol staggers but recovers his balance more quickly than Kyungsoo had expected. Yura laughs quietly next to Kyungsoo, and gives his hand a quick squeeze when he just shakes his head.

“Hey, who says he wants to use you?” Baekhyun protests. “What about me?”

“We can take turns,” Jongdae says.

“Hey, me too!” Amber chimes in.

Chanyeol laughs, holding out his hands, palm-forward, as if to hold them all back. “Come on, I can’t carry everybody.”

“Shouldn’t he carry Jinri first?” Jongin asks.

Baekhyun fakes a gasp. “You can’t carry the bride before the wedding!”

“Don’t worry, Jinri,” Jongdae says with a wink. “I’ve got this.”

Jinri laughs. “Just don’t break him, okay? I need him in one piece.”

“Can’t make any promises.” Jongdae digs his heels into Chanyeol’s sides, and he groans exaggeratedly, face scrunched into mock-pain, before heading up the aisle. Jongdae pillows his head on Chanyeol’s back and shuts his eyes, the picture of serenity. Zitao follows and snaps a few pictures, telling Jongdae to tilt his head this way or that for a better angle.

Yup, Kyungsoo thinks as he watches, he and Jongin are definitely eloping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two-year-old flower girl has to be coaxed down the aisle, and Yura misses a few cues because she’s so busy texting the caterer, but otherwise the rehearsal goes well. Until they get to the rings.

“Sehun, that’s when you hand over the rings,” the pastor says.

“I know,” Sehun says airily, reaching into his pocket—and then he frowns.

“Sehun?” Kyungsoo prompts.

“I can’t remember where…”

“ _Sehun_.”

Sehun smirks at him. “Just kidding. I put them in the safest place I could think of.”

“I didn’t know you bought wedding rings big enough to fit around that,” Baekhyun says to Chanyeol with a leer, and Jongin groans and casts the crucifix hanging above the altar an apologetic glance.

“I mean Tao has them,” Sehun says in exasperation. 

Zitao holds up a hand, where, thankfully, a familiar silver band is resting on one finger. “Don’t worry, they’re right here,” he says, waving it in front of the video camera for good measure. “I’m taking good care of them.”

“You’d better be,” Kyungsoo warns him. He doesn't like the fact that he can see the slightest bit of space between the ring and Zitao's finger even from where he's standing, the way it wiggles loosely with every exaggerated gesture Zitao makes.

“I am! They’re too pretty to let anything happen to them.” Zitao looks at the ring, his gaze going hazy. “Actually, if you want me to keep wearing this one until the wedding…”

“Tao, hand it over,” Chanyeol orders. Zitao's lips pucker into the smallest of pouts, and he takes his time with it, but eventually he pulls the band off and grudgingly drops it into Chanyeol's outstretched hand.

“What about Jinri’s?” Kyungsoo makes sure to add when Zitao makes no further movements.

“You didn’t notice? Look!” He touches his right earring which, Kyungsoo suddenly realizes, has Jinri’s wedding ring dangling from it.

Kyungsoo decides to pretend that he hasn’t seen Sehun lick his lips out of the corner of his eye. “Tao-”

With another sigh, Zitao huffs, “ _Fine_ ,” and sets his camera down to unfasten that ring, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rehearsal dinner is delicious, and everyone’s too busy eating to cause trouble. Well, mostly.

Jongin rests his hand on Kyungsoo’s thigh early in the evening and keeps it there as he plows through the chicken dinner, a familiar gesture that Kyungsoo’s always liked. The foot trying to make its way to Kyungsoo’s lap, on the other hand… “Jongdae, that’s _my_ leg,” Kyungsoo warns him, and it quickly withdraws, Jongdae and Joonmyun both laughing loudly from embarrassment.

Zitao chooses that particular moment to come by the table, kneeling down at the end and holding up his camera. “Smile!” he says, snapping a picture before anyone can react. He looks at his display, and then sighs. “Kyungsoo, you weren't smiling.”

“You didn’t give me any time-”

“One more time!” Zitao interrupts, and Kyungsoo grits his teeth but forces a smile. “There, good! Smile on your way out after the wedding, too, okay? You looked like you were going to a funeral.”

“I was _concentrating_ ,” Kyungsoo says, but Zitao’s already moved on to the next table. And that’s when he feels something else. “Still my leg, Jongdae.” 

“It wasn’t me!” Jongdae insists, and Kyungsoo immediately looks at Baekhyun, who’s next to Jongdae. Baekhyun waggles his eyebrows. Kyungsoo studies him for a moment, and then calmly kicks Baekhyun in the shin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The morning of the wedding starts with a ten-minute search for Jongin’s tie, and Kyungsoo stays busy from there—he makes sure Zitao gets every shot of the preparations he needs during his session at Chanyeol’s apartment (although why Chanyeol has to pretend to iron his shirt for pictures is beyond Kyungsoo), styles Joonmyun and Sehun's hair, and helps Baekhyun with his cufflinks.

Zitao has long since left to take photographs of Jinri and the bridesmaids by the time the boutonnieres are dropped off, so Sehun covers for him, taking pictures here and there as people unwrap theirs and help each other pin them on. 

When Jongin picks up his, he immediately turns to Kyungsoo. "Help?" he asks hopefully.

Brow furrowed in concentration, Kyungsoo pins it to Jongin’s lapel, making sure to get it as straight as possible. "There," he says, stepping back, then gives Jongin a careful once-over. He has to admit, no matter how today goes the sight of Jongin in a tux will make it all worth it. 

Jongin ducks his head, smiling. "Thanks. Do you want me to help you, too?"

"In a minute," Kyungsoo murmurs, and leans up for one kiss, then another. One of his hands slides along Jongin’s tie, wrapping it around his fist. Maybe later, after the reception…

"Hey, if I can't get any before the wedding you can't, either," Chanyeol says, tugging Kyungsoo away from Jongin, who blinks after them for a few seconds before wandering over to the other groomsmen. Chanyeol ignores how Kyungsoo is scowling at him. "Can you do me a favor?"

It’s Chanyeol’s wedding day, Kyungsoo reminds himself. He shouldn’t kill Chanyeol on his own wedding day. Probably. "What is it?"

"We were supposed to write each other letters before the wedding, and I forgot to ask Tao to take mine over to Jinri.” Kyungsoo had been too preoccupied by Jongin to pay attention to anything else, but once Chanyeol mentions it he notices the envelope Chanyeol is nervously tapping against his own thigh. “Can you drop it off for me?"

"Sure." There isn’t much left for anyone here to do, after all. Joonmyun should be able to help keep things under control while Kyungsoo’s gone.

"Thanks!" Chanyeol hands him the envelope, Kyungsoo making sure to avoid touching any of the visible finger indentations. "Oh, hey, need me to put your boutonniere on?"

"Your hands aren’t shaking, are they?" Kyungsoo asks.

“I’m not nervous. I’m fine. Born ready.” Chanyeol’s smile is a bit too wide, but Kyungsoo agrees, anyway. He can always get Joonmyun to fix it later.

Chanyeol hums to himself, tongue between his teeth, as he carefully pins Kyungsoo’s boutonniere in place. Sometimes it's still strange for Kyungsoo to think that Chanyeol's getting married. They've known each other for years, have gotten ready for all their graduations and more chorus or band performances than he can count together, and now they’re preparing for Chanyeol's _wedding_.

Like he's reading Kyungsoo's mind, Chanyeol says, "Maybe next time we do this it'll be for your wedding."

Kyungsoo snorts, turning to the full-length mirror someone had set against the wall earlier to see how he looks. Chanyeol didn’t do a bad job. "Don't rush me," he tells Chanyeol, fixing his tie slightly for good measure.

Chanyeol winds his arms around Kyungsoo, leaning over his shoulder so he can look in the mirror, too. Kyungsoo decides to ignore how he can see Sehun at the edge of the frame, taking pictures of them. "Oh come on, Jongin's a keeper. You're lucky I didn’t steal him from you years ago."

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows. "Mmhmm."

"He's so handsome, he's such a good dancer, he has a nice smile and he's so cute and he likes dogs-”

"Maybe I should warn Jinri about this while I’m there," Kyungsoo says dryly, and winces as Chanyeol laughs right in his ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a ten-minute drive to Jinri’s parents’ house, where Jinri and the bridesmaids are getting ready. Amber answers the door, dressed in a monogrammed black robe over sweatpants, even though she’s in full make-up. “Bridesmaid gift,” she explains when Kyungsoo comments on the robe, doing a quick twirl to show it off. “Nice, right? And it’s super soft, too, check this out.”

Kyungsoo strokes the edge of the sleeve quickly when she offers it to him. “Very nice,” he agrees.

“What did you guys get?”

(“Open them, look inside!” Chanyeol had urged as the groomsmen had unwrapped their personalized travel cups that morning.

Bemused, Kyungsoo had, only to reach inside and pull out a handful of condoms with a design of a cartoon version of Chanyeol on them, giving them a thumbs-up. 

“I was going to give you shoe lifts, too, but they wouldn’t fit-” Chanyeol had begun to explain, only to be interrupted by Jongdae and Kyungsoo pelting him with their share of condoms.)

Kyungsoo smiles serenely. “Travel cups.”

“Nice.” Amber laughs suddenly, leaning in close. “You should have seen what was in the pockets-”

But before she can elaborate, they’re both distracted by a sudden burst of noise from inside, what sounds like someone thundering up the stairs and Song Qian calling for someone to bring her more bobby pins. 

“Weddings,” Amber says, whatever she had been about to tell him apparently forgotten. “Anyway, you’ve got Jinri’s letter?”

"Yeah." He hands it over, notices her lips twitch as she takes in the worn sides of the envelope and the little drawings Chanyeol had scrawled on the back. At least Chanyeol had thought to spray on a little cologne; a nice touch, though Kyungsoo’s willing to bet that Jinri’s letter smells of her perfume, too. "You're not ready yet?"

"Nah, I’m going last since I’ll be quick. How's everything with you guys?"

That depends on just what the crashing noises Kyungsoo heard as he walked out of the apartment were, but if he’s not there then it’s not his problem, so he shrugs. "Chaos, but we'll get there."

She smiles, squeezing his arm quickly with her free hand. "Hey, it'll be worth it. Chanyeol and Jinri will have the best day of their lives. That's what matters."

That is what matters, Kyungsoo reminds himself. Not the week he's spent holding half a dozen imaginary leashes; not the way Yura lets her shoulders slump in exhaustion when she thinks no one's looking. "Yeah," he agrees, and smiles back. "Everything will be fine."

They both hastily knock on the wooden door frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the knocking works, or maybe everyone actually learned something during the rehearsal, but either way the wedding goes off without a hitch. Sehun hands over the rings without a problem, Yixing remembers every cue and doesn’t miss a note, Joonmyun and Jongdae don’t eyefuck excessively during Jongdae and Sunyoung’s duet, and even Baekhyun only turns around to scope out the audience once.

Kyungsoo can't see Chanyeol’s face, since he's facing away from the groomsmen, but he can hear how Chanyeol’s voice shakes a little as he repeats his vows, and he can see Jinri's shining eyes and how she can't stop smiling. He's not really surprised when he feels Jongin's hand nudge against his, and though it’s anything but subtle Kyungsoo takes his hand properly, giving it a quick squeeze and linking their fingers together. Nobody will be looking at them right now, anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a beautiful day, but the photographs are still all taken inside. Which, Kyungsoo thinks as he remembers how Jinri had cowered behind Krystal while Amber chased a crowd of pigeons away from the church on their way in, is just as well.

Once all the formal ones are taken, Zitao calling up and dismissing various wedding party members, family members, and friends, it’s time for something the groomsmen have all been looking forward to ever since Chanyeol asked them to be in the wedding.

Baekhyun holds up the dried yellow corvine, a wicked smile on his face. “I call dibs.”

“I’m second!” Jongdae chimes in, and they both promptly tackle Chanyeol to the floor of the church. 

After Chanyeol’s socks and shoes are off and the two of them have hit the bottoms of his feet with the dried fish to their hearts’ content, Chanyeol laughing and yelping with every strike, Jongdae offers it to Kyungsoo, who takes it with a smile.

“Just remember, he has to be able to walk,” Baekhyun tells him.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Kyungsoo says, and Chanyeol shivers dramatically.

Kyungsoo figures that Chanyeol will have enough trouble dancing even without all of this, so he keeps his own strokes light, and the other three finish soon enough when he’s done. Sehun’s the last one, and Chanyeol grabs him in a headlock and wrestles him down with him when he’s done, both of them laughing.

That taken care of, it’s not long before the wedding party—plus Zitao, who insists on riding with them to take more pictures—pile into the limo to go to the reception location, everyone all but sitting on top of each other. Yura sits down on Jongin’s other side, and Kyungsoo leans forward a little to smile at her.

“So far, so good,” he points out.

“So far,” she agrees, smiling back. Jongin’s ears turn red when she rests her head against his shoulder, and Kyungsoo barely suppresses a laugh.

There are cheers when Krystal opens the champagne, and before long almost everyone has a flute. “What about me?” Zitao demands as Krystal begins to set the bottle aside.

“No, you have a job to do,” Baekhyun tells him, staring pointedly at his camera.

“I can still have some!" Zitao protests. As if to illustrate, he tilts his head back, the unbuttoned collar of his shirt riding down and exposing the expanse of his neck. "I can just drink it like this," he explains with an obscene smack of his lips, "while Sehun pours it down my-”

Sehun chokes on his own champagne, and Kyungsoo's mind speeds ahead faster than Zitao's drawling voice and he has a vision of champagne-stained dresses, a broken camera, Zitao and Sehun losing any semblance of self-control… 

“I’ll buy you a drink when we get there,” Joonmyun offers quickly.

Zitao beams at him. “You’re my favorite.”

“Hey!” Sehun protests. Zitao laughs, kissing his cheek until Sehun stops pouting.

Drinks poured and Zitao settled, it’s soon time for the toasts. “To Chanyeol and Jinri,” Amber says as they all raise their glasses.

“May you live happily ever after,” Sunyoung adds.

They all clink their glasses. Chanyeol and Jinri carefully link arms before drinking theirs; giggling, Song Qian and Sunyoung follow suit.

“Do you guys want to tell us something?” Amber teases them.

“Oh, not anymore, we already broke up,” Song Qian says solemnly, and Jinri laughs.

Joonmyun turns to the newly married couple. “So who do you think will be the next to get married?” 

Chanyeol’s brow furrows in thought, but Jinri’s always beaming at her target. “Krystal.”

“What?” Krystal asks incredulously. “Why me?”

“Because I’m married, so next it’s your turn! That’s how it works.”

“Who says?”

“Me!”

“Maybe you should warn Taemin,” Kyungsoo says to Jongin.

Jongin laughs into his champagne glass. “No,” he says once he’s recovered, “I’ll let him find out himself.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few people had been surprised that Chanyeol hadn’t chosen Kyungsoo to be his best man, but Kyungsoo himself had never expected it. Sehun has been friends with Chanyeol for years longer than the rest of them have. He was the natural choice.

Sehun had worked on his best man speech down to the wire, lips pressed tight as he’d crossed out words and substituted in new ones, until Joonmyun had taken him aside, evidently reassuring him enough that Sehun tucks the speech away. 

And the effort shows. Sehun usually contains his emotions, but that doesn’t mean they’re not heartfelt, and he’s poured them all into his speech. Kyungsoo can hear Jongin sniffling next to him near the end and squeezes his hand. Chanyeol gives Sehun a long, enthusiastic hug when he’s done, whispering something in his ear that makes Sehun laugh, visibly flustered.

“Your speech was really good, Sehun,” Kyungsoo says as Sehun sits back down.

Joonmyun nods, giving him a proud smile. “You did really well.”

“Thanks,” Sehun says, a shy smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he stares down at his empty plate.

Once Jiyoung makes her maid of honor speech, it’s time for the food. “The best part about being in the wedding,” Baekhyun remarks to Kyungsoo as they and the rest of the wedding party line up first. Kyungsoo, his eyes on the variety of western and traditional Korean dishes that await them, nods in enthusiastic agreement. 

Chanyeol and Jinri have scheduled the panbaek to take place after the dinner, so they leave the table early to change into their hanboks. Kyungsoo’s still eating, so he doesn’t pay attention to much of anything until he hears Song Qian.

“Are you okay, Joonmyun?” Song Qian asks.

Kyungsoo looks up and sees that Joonmyun is leaning his forehead against his hand. “Headache,” Joonmyun mumbles, his voice strained. Jongdae muffles something that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, and Kyungsoo’s gaze darts over to him. It only takes a few seconds for him to note that one of Jongdae’s hands, the one nearest Joonmyun, is nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe you need some air,” Jongdae says, and Joonmyun nods rapidly.

Amber snorts. “I bet you know all kinds of ways to help him feel better.”

“I try,” Jongdae says with a bright smile.

There are a few things Kyungsoo could say to that, but Baekhyun beats him to it. “What’s wrong, Jongdae? Not enough meat in the dinner for you?”

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae exclaims in shock, like he’s not the one about to sneak off for a quickie, and Baekhyun laughs.

“Could they be any more obvious?” Kyungsoo mutters as he watches Jongdae lead Joonmyun away.

“Could be worse,” Baekhyun says philosophically. “Remember Hakyeon’s bachelor party?”

Kyungsoo buries his face in his hands. He’d taken so much care to suppress those mental images, too. “Not helping,” he says, voice muffled, and Jongin pats his back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the panbaek is over, many of the older guests file out and the DJ gets to work, turning the music up loudly. Kyungsoo relaxes enough that he even dances with his friends, and with Jongin, for a while.

He asks Yura for a dance, too, when a slower song starts up. Her heels put her at almost a head taller than him, but for once he doesn't mind. "Thank you so much for helping me," she tells him again. 

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like I've been much of a help," he admits.

"You have! Everything's going well." She seems to have relaxed, too, eyes bright and her smile coming easier than it has all day. Strands of hair are coming unpinned, curling in tendrils around her slightly flushed face.

“Nothing’s burned down,” he offers, and just as he’d hoped, she smiles. “No one tried to object to the marriage.”

“The air conditioning didn’t go out,” she adds. He grimaces at the thought. It’s been a mild summer so far, but he still wouldn’t want to be in a tux during June without air conditioning. “That happened at our cousin’s wedding last year.”

“One of my cousin’s groomsmen got sick at the altar during her wedding.”

Yura’s jaw drops. “What?”

“See? Could’ve been worse.”

“So true. Krystal hasn’t even tried to stab Baekhyun with one of her stilettos yet.”

"Though you might want to be careful with yours," Kyungsoo jokes as he dodges her feet once again.

Yura's laugher simmers down into a fond smile that only grows brighter after she cups Kyungsoo's left cheek and kisses his right. Not for the first time, he thinks she has the prettiest smile of any woman he's ever met. 

"Thank you, Kyungsoo." Her voice trails just as the last notes of the song fade out, and she playfully curtsies before wandering off to find a new dance partner.

Kyungsoo, meanwhile, winds his way off the dance floor, past Yixing, who’s dancing close to a small man with sharp, arresting features. Kyungsoo’s never seen him before. One of Jinri’s friends, maybe, or a date Yixing had forgotten to mention he was bringing with him. Yixing’s tie is nowhere in sight and the top three buttons of his shirt are undone, but now that they’re so close to the end of the night Kyungsoo’s not worried about it. 

Absently smoothing a hand over his own tie, Kyungsoo notices Zitao and Sehun pressed cheek to cheek and smiling up at Zitao’s carefully angled smartphone for a picture, Zitao having set aside his expensive cameras for the moment. Kyungsoo heads over, reaching them after Zitao has put his phone away again and is slapping playfully at Sehun’s hands.

"How are the pictures?" Kyungsoo's question stops Zitao mid-smack, drawing away his attention from a still-laughing Sehun.

"They're going to be perfect," Zitao assures him. "You'll see."

"You should get one of us," Sehun tells Zitao, abandoning him in favor of draping himself over Kyungsoo, tugging Kyungsoo back against his chest and resting his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, like Sehun's still as small as he was when they met back in high school. Kyungsoo lets him. Sometimes it's just nice to bask in Sehun's affection.

"Kyungsoo?" Zitao asks, already digging his phone back out of his pocket.

"Yeah, it's fine," Kyungsoo agrees, and Sehun gives him a quick squeeze.

Zitao has to take at least six before he pronounces himself satisfied. Even after he's done, Sehun doesn't let go of Kyungsoo. 

"It was really cool how you did so much to help with the wedding," Sehun murmurs against Kyungsoo’s neck. 

“Well, someone had to.”

Sehun laughs a little. "Yeah." He's quiet for a moment, long enough that Kyungsoo's shoulders start to relax, but then adds, "You probably could've run the whole thing yourself. Or someone else’s wedding."

Kyungsoo twists around to look at Sehun's now wide-eyed, hopeful face, then over at Zitao. He knows exactly where this is going. "Sehun, no."

"But hiring a wedding planner is expensive,” Sehun points out, his lips disappearing as he draws them into a thin, displeased line.

"And we have lots of ideas!" Zitao says without missing a beat.

There are a lot of reasons why Kyungsoo wouldn't agree to be their wedding planner, but just the thought of Zitao’s backseat planning is enough for him to insist, even more fervently this time, “ _No_.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun seems to have honed in on his target of the night, one of Hakyeon's ten million ridiculously tall friends who doesn't seem to mind the attention at all. Kyungsoo spares a moment to hope that he'll get to watch when Hakyeon notices what's going on, then promptly forgets all about it as Chanyeol grabs him out of nowhere, picking Kyungsoo up and giving him a quick spin. After all these years Kyungsoo is so used to it that the only surprise is that it took Chanyeol this long to do it.

"Dance with me?" Chanyeol asks hopefully, voice booming over the soft song.

Kyungsoo looks pointedly down at just how far his feet are dangling off the ground, then back at Chanyeol. “Dance. With you. Do you really hate me that much?”

“It’s my wedding day!”

“Just wait until mine,” Kyungsoo says direly. 

“Come on, _please_?”

"As long as you quit yelling in my ear," Kyungsoo returns. Chanyeol laughs right in his ear instead, but at least he sets Kyungsoo down.

After a few spins around the dance floor, Kyungsoo notices that Yura has claimed Jongin for this dance. Even from here Kyungsoo can see Jongin’s eyes darting around, and how his cheeks are lightly flushed. Kyungsoo has long since lost count of the number of their friends he's seen get flustered by Yura—and, well, maybe he went through that stage when he first met her, too, though he likes to think he was more subtle about it. 

"Be careful, Yura could steal him away," Chanyeol says, following his gaze.

"I thought you were just telling me I should marry him."

"And this is why."

"You think he'd choose Yura over me?" Kyungsoo asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"She's Yura. I have to think everyone would choose her."

"Thanks a lot."

Chanyeol laughs, tugging him in closer until they're more hugging while rotating than actually dancing. "Want me to cut in?"

Kyungsoo glances over again, trading smiles with Jongin. "No, this is okay," he says. 

"Really?"

The ring on Chanyeol's finger glints under the lighting between their intertwined fingers, warm metal pressed against Kyungsoo's skin. "Only because it's your wedding day," he sighs, much softer than he had intended, immediately redirecting his eyes towards the cake crumbs on Chanyeol's shoulders. _They_ won't make him feel awkward and two feet tall.

When he feels Chanyeol's hand squeezing his own, Kyungsoo squeezes back tightly and looks back up into a smile as uncharacteristically subdued as Kyungsoo's tone. But before Kyungsoo can point it out, Chanyeol buries it in Kyungsoo's gradually wilting hair, and Kyungsoo lets him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the song is over, Jongin leaves the dance floor for the first time all night, heading back to their table for a drink. Kyungsoo follows and rests his hand on Jongin’s back, smiling apologetically when Jongin startles. “Want to get some air?” he suggests.

Jongin nods. “Sure, just a second.” Kyungsoo waits while Jongin finishes his water, throat working in long swallows, then takes his hand and leads him out of the reception hall.

It’s only a few turns through the hotel hallway before they’re out the door. There’s a pretty, white gazebo across the parking lot where Zitao had had the wedding party pose for several impromptu photographs after they had piled out of the limo. Jongin and Kyungsoo take their time wandering over to it. Even though it’s June, now that the sun’s down the air is cool enough that Kyungsoo’s surprised they’re the only ones in sight.

Jongin shrugs out of his jacket once they reach the gazebo, draping it over the railing as Kyungsoo gingerly lowers himself to sit on the step, untying his shoes so he can rub his feet. “Do you think I can count not complaining about Chanyeol stomping all over me as a wedding present?” he asks with a wry laugh.

“Maybe it’s genetic,” Jongin says, grimacing as he sits down next to Kyungsoo and takes off his own shoes. His socks are already missing, to Kyungsoo’s complete lack of surprise. “At least he wasn’t wearing stilettos.”

Kyungsoo remembers his own dance with Yura and wonders just how many times she had stepped on Jongin. “Small blessings,” he agrees with a laugh, and when he reaches for Jongin’s hand Jongin twines their fingers together, resting his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Maybe it _is_ a surprise that he and Jongin weren't the first ones down the aisle. It's not that either of them have anything against weddings. Kyungsoo knows that Jongin, especially, is traditional enough at heart that he'll probably not only want one someday but expect it. The more Kyungsoo thinks about it, the stranger it is that even after three years of dating and a year of living together they've never really talked about getting married.

“It’s been nice, though,” he begins tentatively, and Jongin hums in acknowledgement. “I was expecting the worst, but it’s been…” 

“I told you so,” Jongin teases, but gently, his thumb tracing absently along the side of Kyungsoo’s hand.

Kyungsoo nods, his mind wandering again. Maybe when it comes to marrying Jongin he’s always dismissed the idea of a wedding because he doesn’t need all that, the formalities and the ceremony and the fuss. He doesn’t need rings and vows to know that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Jongin, just like this. But he’d be more than willing to go through it for Jongin, anyway. "Do you ever think about us doing this?” he asks, pulling away so that he can see Jongin’s curious face. “Getting married?"

"Yeah," Jongin admits after a moment. "A lot. But when we're ready."

"We've been together longer than Chanyeol and Jinri."

"So? We're not them. It doesn't bother me that you've never asked me." Jongin cocks his head, scrutinizing him. "Does it bother you that I've never asked you?"

"No," Kyungsoo says quickly. The last thing they need is a misunderstanding about that. "Chanyeol was talking about it earlier, so I was thinking about it, that's all."

Jongin snorts. "He's spent months complaining about all this wedding stuff and now he wants the rest of us to get married, too?"

"I know."

"You should've told him to talk to Tao and Sehun."

"If they don't talk to him first." Kyungsoo shakes his head. “They asked me to help plan their wedding.”

“Don’t say yes, you’d actually end up killing them.”

“I didn’t,” Kyungsoo assures him with a laugh. 

“Okay, good. Conjugal visits don’t sound like much fun.”

Another chuckle slips from Kyungsoo's lips, but he prevents any others from following it into the night by tugging Jongin closer and sealing them with a kiss. “I love you.”

“I know,” Jongin says, full-out beaming at him. Kyungsoo knows his hair’s a lost cause when Jongin twines his hands in it as he leans in to kiss Kyungsoo again, but he doesn’t mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo has actually relaxed and decided that the rest of the night should be smooth sailing, sated by the feeling of Jongin's hands massaging his weary shoulders and the liquor and culinary delights that had made his waistband the slightest bit tighter. 

Then comes the garter toss, Baekhyun, Jongdae and Amber all wolf-whistling and Jinri laughing as Chanyeol sticks his head under Jinri’s dress while he retrieves it. Kyungsoo’s content to just watch, but of course the others can never just leave him in peace.

"Come on, they said all single guys," Jongdae insists, tugging on Kyungsoo’s wrist.

"I'm not single. _You're_ not single."

"Unmarried, then!"

"Come on, Kyungsoo," Baekhyun says, taking his other wrist and beaming at him. "We all know you're too short to catch anything, anyway."

"Thanks, Baekhyun," he says dryly, but lets them tow him over to the group anyway. 

As it turns out, the odds of him ending up with the garter are substantially improved when he's ushered to the center of the group, and then everyone steps back at the last moment, leaving him to catch it by instinct.

He stares at the garter in his hand in disbelief—he can still feel the wet patch where Chanyeol had pulled it off with his teeth—then slowly turns toward his now hysterically laughing friends. "You-” he begins.

"We had to," Baekhyun gasps out. "We had to, you—your _face_ , this is my favorite day—congratulations, Jongin-”

Jongdae laughs, wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo's neck. “How hasn’t Kyungsoo killed us all yet?”

“The wedding’s not over yet,” Kyungsoo reminds them darkly. “I still have time.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not long after that when Chanyeol and Jinri depart for their honeymoon, running the gauntlet of family and friends who line up outside to see them off, tossing glow sticks after them. The car’s been vividly decorated, courtesy Amber, Baekhyun, Taemin, and Krystal. Kyungsoo smiles and waves along with everyone else as Chanyeol and Jinri drive away, Chanyeol honking the horn several times before they’re out of sight.

Just like that the party’s over. The crowd disperses, everyone walking back to the hotel or out to their cars in pairs or small groups. Jongin is half leaning on Kyungsoo as they amble back toward the hotel, intending to say good-bye to a few people before they head back into the city.

Yura is just ahead of them, two glow sticks in one hand. Kyungsoo waves as their eyes meet, and she waves back and waits for them by the door.

“It’s over,” Kyungsoo says, and laughs when she cheers and waves the glow sticks again in response.

“And everything went off well.” Yura shakes her head. “It was fun, but I wouldn’t want to plan weddings for a living. I’m glad Jinri made it so easy; it would be awful working with a difficult bride.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Jongin says. “So, uh, what are you doing now?”

“Nothing,” Yura says with a contented sigh. “Mom’s going to finish things here. My job is done.”

Kyungsoo and Jongin trade a glance. “Do you want to come back with us for a while?” Kyungsoo offers.

Yura looks from one of them to the other, then smiles. “All right.”

She stops by the bar on the way out for a bottle of champagne, which she holds up triumphantly before taking Jongin’s free hand again. “The perfect way to end the night,” she says.

Kyungsoo couldn’t agree more.


End file.
